1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to generating a presentation for re-locating an information page that has already been called proceeding from an information vendor, and which has been exited in the meantime.
2. Description of the Prior Art
“Surfing”, for example on the Internet, means the time-successive calling of different Internet pages via hyperlinks. The problem often occurs that, after an Internet page has been called and then exited, at some later time one would like to locate that Internet page again i.e., to call it again. Standard network browsers, which are meant to include computer programs that run on computers, for example PCs, that enable surfing in the Internet, offer only limited possibilities for re-locating an Internet page that was previously called. Most network browsers, for example the Internet Explorer of Microsoft Corporation or the program Netscape of Netscape Communications Corporation, offer a “back” button in order, proceeding from the currently called Internet page, to proceed to the Internet page called immediately before. As used herein, an Internet page means the information that can be called under an Internet address with the assistance of a network browser, independently of the scope of the information.
There is also the possibility of calling an address list that contains a number of called addresses of Internet pages. The address list, however, usually does not include any addresses of Internet pages called with links proceeding from a home page. An address of an Internet page that is not explicitly recognizable is thereby hidden behind such a link that, for example, is identified by a line under a word. By activating the link with a computer mouse, for example, by moving a pointer adjustable with the computer mouse onto the link and actuating a key of the computer mouse, one thereby proceeds into the corresponding Internet page.
Particularly after surfing for a longer time in the Internet, the “back” button and the address list are only conditionally suited for re-locating an Internet page that has already been found, particularly when it is an Internet page from the informational offering of an information vendor that branches off from a home page, since the address of the Internet page to be re-located either cannot be located again for the above reasons or no longer can be found in the address page because it was already deleted. The same is true, moreover, for surfing in an intranet or extranet with a browser.
PCT Application WO 00/75827 discloses a method with which the behavior of a person when surfing the Internet is analyzed with an Internet browser implemented on a computer. Whenever the person with the Internet browser requests an Internet page from an Internet server, the status of the Internet browser is registered and data about Internet pages that have been called are acquired.
European Application 0 810 536 discloses a method wherein the user of an Internet browser can decide on a display device before the display of an Internet page, that was newly requested with the Internet browser from an Internet server, as to whether an additional window should be opened for the display of the newly requested Internet page, so that a page already displayed with the Internet browser continues to be displayed and is not masked by the newly requested Internet page to be displayed.
German OS 199 60 043 discloses a method implementable proceeding from a computer system for navigating within a tree structure having leaf nodes that represent arbitrary, inter-related data treated as a unit.